Whirlpool’s Bid to Garnish $800K Retirement Account Undone

A freight auditor that got into a billing dispute with Whirlpool Corp. may be able to shield its owner’s $800,000 retirement account from the appliance maker’s collection efforts, the Eleventh Circuit ruled.

The decision allowing Whirlpool to enforce its $176,749 judgment against Freight Revenue Recovery of Miami Inc. by garnishing the retirement account of Freight Revenue’s owner must be rethought, the court said. The lower court judge didn’t adequately explain why the money in Richard Dawson’s profit-sharing plan account should be imputed to Freight Revenue, the Eleventh Circuit said in an unpublished Nov. 26 opinion.

The ruling below ...